If the company is publicly traded, click on for investors and listen to the last earnings report, if available; but, for sure, read the 10k’s and annual reports. Log into Yahoo, or one of the other search engines, and go to the financial section and enter the trade name. Read the message boards and find out as much as you can.

Do a search on the Internet for the company and the executives you will be meeting. Read whatever information you find. Log on to Hoovers to find your competitors and research them in relation to size, strengths, etc.

Write down key information that will help you to get into rapport quickly at your meeting. You also might find potential problems or the results the company is looking for to get to their customers and market.

Why do this? Imagine you are the hiring manager for a key position in your company, responsible for recommend­ing the right person for the job, one the company can depend on.

Person A comes in for an interview and has the right background and qualifications but is not really prepared. During the interview you will ask:

“Why do you want to work here?”

“How can you help our company meet our goals?”

“How will your experience solve our problems?”

It becomes apparent that the candidate really does not know what your company is doing or how they will be able to help your company.

Candidate B who is equally as qualified as candidate A walks in and says, “Congratulations on your latest win with XYZ Company. It must have been gratifying to beat out your competitor, WWW Company.”

You ask the same questions you asked candidate A. However, candidate B tells you what they know about your company and how their experience and qualifications will meet your needs for the position and, moreover, help the company with its overall goals.

Who gets a recommendation for the next rounds of interviews or the job?

Bottom Line: Prepare as if it were for an interview for a very important job – because it is.

Before walking in to meet your client or prospect, be prepared:

Have background notes on the company and individuals and a mental list of your key talking points, for example: latest win, industry news impacting their business, recent promotions, improved stock price.

Appearance is important and visual people take notice. What should you wear if it is business casual? Always dress one notch above, for instance, sport jacket, slacks and long-sleeved shirt without a tie for men; slacks or skirt with a blouse for women.

Attitude shows, so get yourself into record mode. Be in a “my rules for me/your rules for you” state of mind.

Outcome is the result you expect; in other words: “Why are you there?”

“What do you want to have happen as a result?” “A week later, what do you want them to say or do?”

Meeting Your Client

Walking into someone’s office can give you a hint of their language:

People who are visual will have stacks of papers, magazines, and folders. Is there a whiteboard or easel board with pictures or notes?

People who are kinesthetic or feeling will surround themselves with pictures of family and friends. Perhaps they will have drawings from their children or grandchildren. Look for mementos.

Hearing or auditory people tend to keep a neat and orderly office.

Find out what you have in common.

Listen and note the words they are using: seeing, hearing or feeling.

Test the language you think they might use and watch their body language, as well as their words, to see if you have a match.

Once you do speak to them in their language, match their voice tone, speed, volume and pitch. Get in rapport by matching them closely, but not exactly.

The Interview

While using their language and remaining in rapport, begin to ask and fill out the information for the problem statement.

Problem Statement

Once you have the answers to these questions, then you want to ask and record the following:

What is the specific problem?

If you get the answer, ask, “What problem will (name) solve?”

What other problems is this causing and for whom?

(remember, this includes their customers and their customers’ customers)

How long have you had this problem?

What have you already tried that did not work?

Whose fault was it?

What will happen if the problem continues?

Results

Taking the same problem, find out the specific results that are required for success.

Describe, as if you were watching a video, what will happen in the future, once you get what you need.

Taking the same problem, find out the specific results that are required for success.

What do you want instead?

Hot Buttons –

What is important?

How will you know when you get it?

Evidence

What results will you get?

What else will change?

Towards

Away From

get

avoid

achieve

problem

goal

Criteria and metrics

Next we want to know:

PROCESS

What will getting (use their criteria) get you, and why is that important?

Optionsalternatives, gives criteria

Proceduredid not choose, gives a story

DECISION

How did you know you made a good decision when making a similar buy?

Internal alternatives, gives criteria

External when someone told me

Next prepare a draft problem statement.

The problem we are having is…………

and this causes…………………..

and these problems …………………..

for ……………………. .

If the problem continues, this will happen:

……………..

In fact, this problem has already limited us from getting …………………..

Next, create a results statement and review it with your client. You will know it is right when they tell you.

You must then take the information your client gave you and meet with every person affected by the problem. The same process for getting to the problem and the result has to be done with each person. The process must also include a crisp problem statement.

After collecting the information from your client, prepare a gap analysis.

SOLUTION

Step

………………………………..

Step

…………………………………

Step

………………………………..

Step

………………………………..

Fill in problem sections (hot buttons/criteria) and the results/metric section (hot buttons/criteria) the same way your competitors would.

Make a copy pertaining to each competitor (including internal, if appropriate).

Complete solution section, mapping the problems to the results.

Complete solution maps the same way your competitor would.

Problem

Your Solution

Result

………….

…………….

…………….

………….

…………….

…………….

………….

…………….

…………….

………….

…………….

…………….

Determine Your Tactics

Review how you and your competitors measure up to solving the client’s problem, then determine their strategy and decide yours.

Company

Big, Bad, Bold

Wait

Partner

Change the game

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Develop Your USP

The problem is: (insert the specific problems) This is causing you not to get: (insert the expected result) What we will do is: (insert your tactic/solution) Success will be measured by: (insert their criteria)

Prepare Your Sales Project Plan

Scope the Project

Identify Project Activities

Estimate Activity Duration

Determine Resource Requirements

Construct and Analyze the Project Network

Recruit and Organize the Project Team

Level Project Resources

Schedule and Document Work Packages

Monitor and Control Progress

Close Out the Project

Present Your Solution

Prepare your P+R=S presentation

What do you want to have happen?

Who is coming?

Answer these questions for each attendee:

What is in it for me?

Why are you in business?

What is the problem?

How will you solve it?

How will I know?

R5 Remember

Each time you contact anyone, it is important to refer to your worksheet. You want to have an exchange where both of you are on the same channel.

Value is one of those words that salespeople use very often but what does it mean?

In the Sales Mapping system we learned:

Problem + Result = Solution P + R=S

We learned how important this is in winning business by meeting your clients’ needs.

We learned the client’s tactics and strategy is number one over our own. To attract great clients, you must first be committed to giving great service or products for meeting their goals.

Now, here is the final formula you must understand:

V=R-P Value equals Results minus Problems

Clients will tell you they received value if the problem has been eliminated and they are getting the results they need and want.

These two formulas will help you and your clients win!

Summary

1.

Do your homework

2.

Prepare for the meeting

3.

Push the record button

4.

Get and keep rapport

5.

Get to the problem

6.

Get the results

7.

Check out your problem statement

8.

Check out your results statement

9.

Create your solution in the gap

10.

What will your competition do?

11.

Decide your tactic

12.

Create and test your USP

Now Make It Yours

Remember “The Brady Bunch”? Robert Reed was the actor who played the dad on the hit series and his real-life daughter asked him, “Why don’t you act like the dad that you play on TV?” He replied, “Because you don’t bring me a 23-minute problem.”

It seems TV has conditioned us, because it insinuates that most of life’s problems can be solved in less than 30 minutes. Now, if it is a really tough problem, well, that takes longer-almost 120 minutes, as we sit in the darkness of our local movie theater.

I would like to tell you that, just because you have read this course, you do not have to do a thing once you’ve loaded the program. But, that is not true.

“The map is not the territory.” If you want to reach a destination and, along the way, you face a mountain, you will have to hike over it. What if I tell you, and show you on a map, the easy and difficult paths and what to expect, along with how best to get over them.

But what if you have never seen or experienced a mountain range? You might say to yourself, “Why is he making a big deal about it? It is just a line on a piece a paper.” That is so, until. you do it.

Now, you have felt the pain and the joy of hiking over a mountain and “the territory” (experience) becomes the map. The course is the map but, once you start to apply what you have learned, your experiences will lead you to success.

Stop the tape!

Why is it that we experience a seminar or listen to tapes or read a course and promise ourselves that come tomorrow we will be making changes – but we don’t?

It is not because we do not want to, but our own self-talk is harder, meaner and tougher than anyone would dare tell us. You tell yourself, “Why do it; I’ve gotten by and this will take work – forget it!” But here is what I want you to do… change the tape!

I doubt if any of us have read a course on driving and the next day we drove a car. It takes time-small steps-repeating over and over what we have learned, before we become experts. I race cars and practice to get better. It’s called seat time, because you need to drive and experience different conditions to get better.

The best way to make Sales Mapping yours is to break it down into smaller pieces. Develop a 30- 90- 120-day plan.